"Good Tidings of Great Joy"

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What You Need To Know:
MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS isnātĀ aĀ depressing, drawn-out dramas about a person dying of some terrible disease. Instead, itās a heartfelt drama about one woman overcoming a crisis of faith through the power of Christmas. It does a great job setting a Christmas mood and spreading the joyful message of theĀ SaviorāsĀ birth. MIRACLE ON CHRISTMASĀ has a strong Christian, biblicalĀ worldview,Ā with many positive references to Scripture. It has several Christmas carols sprinkled throughout, including a beautiful version of āHark the Herald Angels Singā by Harryās character.Ā Harry also tellsĀ aĀ powerful rendition of the Nativity Story.Ā MOVIEGUIDEĀ® highly commends this Christmas movie, MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS.Ā
Content:
More Detail:
In MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS, which is available on Amazon Prime and on DVD, the holiday spirit seems distant for Mary Boyce until an unexpected visitor and a miracle change everything when her mother and siblings come to spend Christmas Day with her husband and two children. MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS is a heartfelt drama that does a great job setting a Christmas mood and spreading the joyful message of the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
The movie opens on Christmas morning. Maryās husband, James, and her children, Lydia and Caleb, are ready to open presents, but Mary just wants to lie in bed. Sheās despondent, because her father died last Christmas, and her husband recently was given only 18 more months to live by his doctor. James may be accepted into an experimental program to treat his disease, but the outlook for that isnāt hopeful.
Mary complains to James that thereās no guarantee that theyāll have another Christmas together. James, however, reminds her that, at least theyāve been blessed with this Christmas together. So Mary puts on a happy face to go out into the living room and celebrate Christmas morning with the children.
Their children, Lydia and Caleb, give Mary a present of a framed photo of Mary and James on their wedding day. Mary gets upset, however, when Jamesā gift to her is tickets to go on a cruise in 18 months. To James, itās a gift of hope, but to Mary, itās just an unpleasant reminder of the doctorās diagnosis.
Cut to James and the children getting ready to attend Christmas services at church. Mary isnāt in the mood to attend. Also, she wants some time to prepare the Christmas Day meal for her mother, Helen, sister, Martha, Marthaās husband, Bill, their son, Josh, her younger brother, Peter, and Gabriela, Peterās latest girlfriend. Mary isnāt happy with her brother, Peter, whoās still living at home and has apparently alienated a string of previous girlfriends. To make matters worse, while Maryās preparing the meal, she accidentally knocks the framed photo from her children onto the floor, and it breaks. The man on the Christian radio station mentions the angels on Christmas announcing the birth of Jesus and praising God. In frustration, Mary says, āIād welcome just one angel with some good news.ā
At church, James and the children are amazed by the singing voice of a man visiting the church that morning. After the service, the pastor introduces the man to James and the children. The manās name is Harry, the pastor says, and heās in town on business. When Harry says heās not having Christmas dinner with anyone, Lydia exclaims, āThatās terrible! No one should be alone on Christmas.ā So, James invites Harry to spend Christmas dinner with them. Of course, Mary isnāt jumping for joy about having another person for Christmas dinner, but James reminds her he has no place to go and that itās the godly thing to do to show hospitality to strangers.
As Maryās mother and siblings arrive, it becomes clear that Harry is more than a little bit strange, even for a stranger, but very polite and multi-talented, with a great heart for the Lord. In fact, heās very eloquent in talking about God with the other men and with Peterās Spanish girlfriend, Gabriela, whoās managed to entice Peter the agnostic into coming regularly to church with her. He even breaks into Spanish with Gabriela, mentioning to her that her name is derived from the angel Gabriel, who told the Virgin Mary that should would give birth to the Savior, Jesus. However, Mary is skeptical about her agnostic brother Peterās interest in going to church with Gabriela.
Eventually, Maryās ongoing conflict with her brother comes to a head. It also brings to the forefront her anger over Peterās diagnosis, which they havenāt yet disclosed to her family. Can anyone or anything dissolve Maryās anger and renew her faith and hope?
MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS is a heartfelt drama that does a great job setting a Christmas mood and spreading the joyful message of the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. The movieās Christmas music and soundtrack help a lot to set this mood. Also, the movieās dramatic moments have some whimsical and comical moments that lighten the drama. Furthermore, MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS isnāt one of those depressing, drawn-out dramas about a dying person. The movie is mostly about one woman overcoming a crisis of faith through the power of Christmas. A few scenes could have been better edited, but, on the whole, the movie tells a heartrending story of joy, love, faith, and hope. More than once in the dialogue, someone says, āThough we may not know what the future holds, we know Who holds the future.ā
Dramatically, MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS has a strong Christian, biblical, morally uplifting worldview with many positive references to Scripture. For example, Harryās character tells a powerful rendition of the Nativity Story during the movie. He also sings a beautiful version of āHark the Herald Angels Sing.ā Other Christmas carols depicted in the movie include āIt Came Upon a Midnight Clear, āOh Little Town of Bethlehem,ā āOh, Holy Night,ā āJoy to the World,ā and a reverent, joyful version of āDeck the Halls.ā MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS also contains beautiful references to King David, Psalm 23 and the biblical story of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary. In addition to all this, the movie refers to Jesus as our Divine Savior and promotes having trust, hope and faith in God. MOVIEGUIDEĀ® highly commends this Christmas movie, MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS.
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